title: Cardiovascular depression and stabilization by central vasopressin in rats.
abstract: The role of endogenous vasopressin in cardiovascular homeostasis was examined using vasopressin-deficient rats (Brattleboro) (n = 194) and their parent strain, Long-Evans rats (n = 181). Mean arterial pressure (blood pressure) and heart rate were measured every 4 seconds with or without infusion of drug solution for 21 hours, and mean values and their standard deviations (lability) were calculated. Blood pressure in Brattleboro rats (116 +/- 1.1 mm Hg, mean +/- SEM) was significantly higher than that in Long-Evans rats (96 +/- 0.7 mm Hg, p less than 0.001), whereas heart rates (381 +/- 3.3 and 375 +/- 2.9 beats/min, respectively) were similar. The lability of blood pressure and heart rate in Brattleboro rats (9.2 +/- 0.1 mm Hg and 42.3 +/- 0.7 beats/min) was also greater than that in Long-Evans rats (6.7 +/- 0.1 mm Hg, p less than 0.001 and 38.4 +/- 0.8 beats/min, p less than 0.01, respectively). In Brattleboro rats, intravenous vasopressin (0.1 ng/kg/min or 0.6 ng/kg/min) did not affect blood pressure, although it did reduce heart rate and decreased lability of blood pressure and heart rate. Intracerebroventricular (central) infusion of vasopressin (2 pg/kg/min) in Brattleboro rats induced initial hypertension and tachycardia followed by long-lasting hypotension and bradycardia, whereas in Long-Evans rats it induced only hypertension and tachycardia. In both strains, central vasopressin dramatically decreased the lability of blood pressure and heart rate. Neither intravenous (0.2 ng/kg/min) nor central desmopressin (2 pg/kg/min or 0.2 ng/kg/min), a V2 renal receptor agonist, changed any of these parameters in Brattleboro rats, although both diminished urinary volume. Neither intravenous (50 ng/kg/min) nor central (3.3 pg/kg/min) d(CH2)5-Tyr(Me)-arginine vasopressin, a vasopressin V1 receptor antagonist, modulated any of these parameters in Long-Evans rats. These results suggest that endogenous as well as exogenous vasopressin acts centrally as a cardiovascular inhibitor and stabilizer through a receptor mechanism other than V1 or V2 receptor mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munakata
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nobunaga
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sekino
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshinaga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000187:drug effects*; D003894:Deamino Arginine Vasopressin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003919:Diabetes Insipidus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D051381:Rats; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014667:Vasopressins; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D003894:Deamino Arginine Vasopressin